Buried Alive
by NymphaTonksLupin
Summary: Not so creative title, I know. Anyways. Tonks disappears a few days before the end of the war. How will Lupin react and how long will he have to search? Very Au, obviously
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: Very AU, and not mine. Sadly. J.K Rowling owns the amazing Harry Potter. I just play around with Tonks, Lupin and a few story lines.**_

__His heart dropped when he approached the door. It was silent, almost too silent for the house to be, and the door was slightly open. He pulled out his wand, his heart hammering quickly. He pushed the door open the rest of the way and his eyes fell on the mess that once resembled their living room. Once he realised no one was there, he ran upstairs to the nursery. The nursery was untouched, his son sleeping. Remus took a deep breath. _Maybe there was only one here. Maybe Dora dealt with them, accidentally destroying the room downstairs in the process._A voice said in his mind. He knew the voice had to be moved towards their bedroom, heart hammering faster with each step. He set his hand on the door knob of their bedroom door and the door fell open, revealing an empty room. The bed hadn't even been touched. It was neatly made, just as it had been when Remus left the evening before.

He turned, walked back into the nursery and grabbed Teddy. Teddy, not accustomed to be woken so abruptly, began crying. Remus Flooed quickly to Andromeda's (after getting into the habit of Flooing with a pregnant Nymphadora, who always had small issues with Apparating to begin with), and called for Andromeda.

"Remus?" Andromeda asked, coming downstairs. "What's wrong?" She asked, instantly taking Teddy.

"Nymphadora's disappeared. Have you heard from her?" Remus asked.

Andromeda, who had ended Teddy's crying, stared at Remus. "Disappeared? What do you mean?"

"I came home this morning, she was gone. The living room was destroyed." Remus said.

"Check the houses of the Order. Maybe she ended up there." Andromeda said. "I'll watch Teddy."

Remus nodded, turning and walking outside. A few seconds later, he appeared with a loud pop outside of the boundaries of Shell Cottage. He walked quickly to the door, knocking loudly.

"Who's there?" Bill called.

"It's me, Remus John Lupin. Husband of Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin, father of Teddy Remus Lupin who inherited his mother's Metamorphmic abilities." Remus said. The door opened seconds later and Remus stepped in.

"Is she here? Please tell me she ended up here?" Remus pleaded.

"What do you mean?" Bill asked. "Is who here?"

"Nymphadora. Is she here?" Remus asked.

"No, haven't heard from her since last week." Bill said.

Remus felt himself sink into a chair.

"Is everything okay?" Hermione asked as her, Harry and Ron appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"She's gone." Remus said, weakly. "Out of nowhere, she's just gone."

"Have you checked Andy's?" Bill asked.

"She's not there. I left Teddy with Andromeda to come see if she was here. Is there no way she ended up here? Maybe she Apparated during a duel or something and ended up here?" Remus asked.

"No, the only Apparation I've heard is yours. Remus, what's happening?" Bill asked.

"I came home this morning to find our front door open, our living room destroyed and Nymphadora gone. Teddy's room, our room and Teddy himself were untouched." Remus said.

"Have you tried Mad-Eye's place? Even though it's been empty for months, it'd mean something to her, and probably be the safest place if she ran from Death Eaters." Bill suggested.

"But to leave Teddy?" Remus asked.

"You said it yourself. She may have been dueling, Apparated and was most likely confused. It's Tonks we're talking about. She probably Apparated while confused, and ended up there, forgetting Teddy completely." Bill said. "She's done it a lot. Especially right after 7th year, she'd forget completely about me or Charlie, she'd be drunk and end up Merlin knows where."

"That wouldn't have been the case last night, Bill." Remus said. "She wouldn't have been drunk last night. There was a duel, the evidence is the remains of our living room, and she's gone. That's all we have now."

"As I said, try Mad-Eye's place. Try Muriel's, even. Or Kingsley's." Bill said. "She could be anywhere there if she Apparated."

"If." Remus repeated weakly.

"Remus, don't worry so much." Bill said.

Remus rose slowly. "I'm going to check around for her." He said, leaving quietly.

* * *

She was being dragged. She didn't even know where exactly she was, just that she couldn't see because of the blindfold. The Death Eater(who she had seen before, but could never remember his name) had hit her at some point during her duel with the other Death Eater, and she had fallen. Whatever he had hit her with had knocked her down, and make her vision fuzzy for a few seconds, as well as giving the Death Eaters long enough to grab her. A few seconds later, she was thrown down onto a hard surface. The blindfold was pulled off long enough for Tonks to catch a quick glance at the rising sun, then she was in darkness once more, as she realised what was happening. She was going to be buried alive. She tried to fight, and then there a loud thud and echoing silence. She could see nothing. It was over, she knew it. She would die, and this was how she would die. Fear filled her, as she banged against the wood protecting her from the large pile of dirt covering her. A scream escaped her lips, as she prayed someone, even a muggle, would hear her. Tears started dripping from her eyes and she hoped Teddy was safe, that Remus had gone home and found him. She wished she had her wand, but that wouldn't be fun for the Death Eaters. She took a deep breath, trying to remember the three rules Mad-Eye had practically drilled into her head the first week of training for if she was in an unknown situation.

_Rule 1. Remain calm, try to figure out your location._

Tonks had done just that. Except the being calm part, which she could just hear Mad-Eye grumbling about. She knew she was buried, somewhere. In a forest, she knew, since she had caught a glimpse of trees.

_Rule 2. Figure out your odds of dying._

Seeing as she was under who knows how much dirt and mud, protected by nothing but a slab of wood, Tonks thought her chances of dying were pretty high. Either she'd be crushed by the weight of dirt if the wood broke, or she'd starve, suffocate or die from thirst first. Tonks kind of wished the wood would break, possibly giving her position away and killing her faster than starvation, dehydration or suffocation.

_Rule 3. Find a possible way out._

That was easy. There was no way out. Unless the wood were to break, and Tonks could somehow managed to dig herself out. Unless someone was around when the wood broke, which was unlikely. This place would be her grave, and she began to welcome death. If she had her wand, she could probably try and Apparate, even though she seemed to get worse at Apparating as time went on.

She got her Apparating license no problem, but a few months later, she started getting nauseous after Apparating. And then she started missing her destination by a few feet. She stopped Apparating completely when she got pregnant, since the feeling she got afterwards mixed with morning sickness wasn't working for her. Later, she was glad she stopped, since her mother told her she'd have to Floo or walk everywhere with Teddy for the first year.

Her hand was hovering over a large splinter of wood, and she pulled it to her. She knew where to put it, how deep, and her heart would stop instantly. Judging the length, it would only take seconds. And she'd be dead, almost instantly. But what if she were to kill herself, and be found? She could live. She could stay with Remus and Teddy, be married for years, have possibly more children. Maybe the war would end. But maybe she would never be found, and she'd die here.

She heard the wood above her make a slight creaking noise. Either she'd kill herself, or the wood would give out. She closed her eyes, silently hoping that death would come soon for her.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: Not mine. Sadly. I wish I owned HP, that'd be . short chapter. ;D**_

"There's going to be a fight at Hogwarts. Remus, we need you if you're willing to help." Neville's voice filled the room from the silver patronus. "Harry's fighting You-Know-Who tonight."

It had been almost a week since his wife's disappearance, and the news had spread throughout the Order quickly. On the third day of asking around, Remus was forced to accept her disappearance and possible death.

"Remus, you should help. They'll need it." Andromeda said.

"I don't want Teddy losing me too." Remus said. "I know if there's going to be a fight, there's going to be deaths."

"Remus, what if this is the last fight? Maybe the war will end. That's what you want, don't you?" Andromeda asked.

"I don't know if I'd be able to face the Death Eaters. Any of them could have been the one to take Dora, and just imagine what they could have done to her." Remus explained.

"If you want to go fight, Remus, I'm sure Teddy will one day understand." Andromeda said. "And it's not like you won't come home, Remus. You're a great fighter."

"It's not Teddy I'm worried about, it's Dora. How would she feel if I left Teddy and never came back?" Remus said.

"I think she'd understand, Remus." Andromeda said. "If you were helping end this. But, it's up to you whether you want to go or not."

"I'm going to fight." Remus said. "I promise I'm coming home for my son." He said.

Andromeda hugged him tightly. "I never told you this, Remus, but you're not that bad of a guy. I just felt like you were taking my Nymphadora away from me, but now I know you never were and you never could." She whispered.

"That means a lot, Andromeda." Remus said. He walked outside and Apparated. He entered the Hogs Head, and was directed down a passageway into the Room of Requirement.

"Remus, you did come." Neville said. He sounded slightly relieved. "Harry's gone to the Ravenclaw Tower with Luna to find something out. When he gets back, we're going to discuss a plan. From the sounds of it, there'll be a big battle."

"I wouldn't feel right not helping." Remus said.

"Still no sign of Nymphadora? No news from her, or anything?" Kingsley asked.

"Nothing." Remus said.

"In the first war, so many people disappeared and they were never recovered again. Don't you remember?" Kingsley asked.

"Too well." Remus said. After the first war had ended, there had been a wall in both the Ministry and Diagon Alley, with pictures(usually supplied by family members) with the names of the missing people. Once a person was recovered, their name and picture was taken down. Remus remembered only a couple ever came down. He was sure if this war ended, the same would happen. This time, he was sure he'd know more of the people on the wall, including his own wife.

* * *

The war was over. But to Remus, that didn't matter. What mattered, was that maybe he'd find his Dora now.

But weeks passed. The wall of missing people started. Mad-Eye was among them, but came down a few days later when his death was published into the Daily Prophet.

Remus walked by both walls everyday to see how many families had been reunited. The same result as the first war. Few came down, even more went up.

Remus would stand and find himself staring at each picture in turn. Pictures of young children that had disappeared. Teenagers that were missing. Young adults. Middle aged adults. Older witches or wizards. Infants.

But the picture that bothered him the most other than his own wife's, was the picture of a young woman and an even younger boy(around 3) who were both missing. Remus had seen the man who put the picture up. The man had been crying, and he had been alone. Remus and Andromeda were together when they put up the pictures for both Ted and Nymphadora. Although Ted was known as dead to the Order, Andromeda still held hope his body was somewhere, or that he was alive somewhere.

Remus held the same hope. Maybe they both had somehow gotten ahold of wands and Apparated, splinching themselves(neither Ted nor Nymphadora had entirely mastered it), and were in some other country. Injured somewhere, with no way to contact them.

Every day, he was disappointed.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **_

_**So, if you've paid attention, this has taken place over about a month. She was missing about 3 days before the Battle, then there is about 3 weeks passing when it was said "weeks passed" in the last chapter. **_

_**This, my followers of this story, is most likely the final a short story. Eh.**_

"Ginny, can we go for a walk?" George asked, appearing in the doorway. "I want to talk with you."

Ginny nodded and followed George. They stepped out into the sunlight.

"Fred and I were talking about you and Harry." George said.

"When?" Ginny asked.

"Couple months ago. We made a bet with Charlie. Charlie said you two wouldn't end up together, we said you would." George said as they walked through the yard.

They reached the edge of the forest and Ginny paused. "Do you think werewolves could still be running around?"

"Ginny, it's not Full Moon for 2 more weeks. You should know that. Otherwise Remus would be in worse of a mood." George said. "And Greyback was arrested, remember?"

Ginny sighed and they continued walking. "Alright." She said. "What if we come across any bodies?"

"Ginny, chill out." George said. "We won't. There's been searches everywhere."

GInny sighed again. "I'm just paranoid. Have you seen the wall in Diagon Alley?" Ginny asked. "They could be dead. _Anywhere._"

George turned to face her. "Don't say that. The most anyone can do for those families is think positively."

"I guess." Ginny said. "I remember when we'd come to this clearing to play Quidditch."

"Good times." George said. "But I don't remember there ever being dirt showing through grass."

Ginny looked where George was. "Maybe there was a fight here during the war." Ginny said. Then her eyes widened. "What if they buried a dead body there?"

"I doubt it." George said. "But if you're that worried-"

He approached the small mound and waved his wand. Dirt created a small pile next to a deep hole.

"Oh Merlin." George said.

Ginny peered into the hole and screamed.

"We'll get the Ministry." George said.

"Is everything okay?" Harry asked, appearing in the clearing, Ron behind him.

"There's a body!" Ginny sobbed.

"It doesn't mean there's a body in there!" George said.

"Why else would there be a _coffin_?" Ginny demanded.

"What's wrong? Who screamed?" Molly asked, the adults now appearing.

"Ginny screamed. We found something that looks like a grave." George said.

Kingsley and Remus used a Levitation charm to bring the make shift coffin up.

Ginny buried her face into George's shoulder to avoid seeing what was in the coffin.

"It's empty." Remus said. "But there's wand. Meaning a witch or wizard had been-" He went silent.

"What?" Kingsley asked.

"It's Dora's wand." Remus said. "She was here. They had her here."

"So she could be alive?" Kingsley asked.

"I doubt it. They wouldn't leave her alive." Remus said. "We may have no way of knowing if she was murdered, and they dealt with the body already, or if they've left her body somewhere."

A bang came from somewhere to the right. A slight blue glow was coming from the direction of the noise, and each person(minus Ginny as she was still underage) pulled their wands out. They walked forward to where the blue was.

The blue glow came from a small tin kettle, similar to one of the Portkeys used for the Seven Potter mission. Beside the Portkey, as if she were asleep, was Tonks.

Another bang and a coat hanger fell to the ground. Next to it this time was the body of Mad-Eye.

Another bang, a silver hairbrush fell. Ted Tonks was there.

"They wanted us to find them." Remus said. "They planned this."

"The Portkeys... We used those..How did they get them?" Ginny asked.

"Who knows. How did they get through the protection charms to get Dora?" Remus said.

Kingsley sent a Patronus message(something that had been taught to each Ministry Employee when Kingsley became Minister) for some Ministry workers to come and collect the bodies.

* * *

Remus woke up shaking. He sat up, turned on the lamp and looked next to him. She was there. Still alive. Still pregnant. He got up and walked to the desk. March 30th? Ted just died a couple of weeks ago. The baby wasn't due for about 2 weeks. That made everything he had just 'lived' through a cruel dream. He hadn't even been himself the whole time. At one point, he _was _Tonks buried alive, and near the end he was Ginny. He couldn't tell Tonks, she'd freak. And that would be good for her health or the baby's.

"Remus?" Tonks asked. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Remus said, walking back to the bed and pulling the covers back over him and Tonks. "I just had a dream."

"Was it bad?" She asked.

"Horrible." Remus said.

"Want to talk about it?" She asked, pushing his slightly long hair out of his face.

"It'll just worry you." Remus said.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Quite sure, love." Remus said.

_**Muahaha. I have always wanted to end a story with it being a dream. :D Review please?**_


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